1941-1942 Toronto Maple Leafs Season
The 1941-1942 Toronto Maple Leafs season was the Toronto-based franchise's twenty-fifth season in the National Hockey League, and fifteenth as the Maple Leafs. The team had a successful season, as they ended the season with 27 victories and 57 points, and a second place finish in the NHL. The team also went on to win the Stanley Cup Championship as NHL champion, after a successful playoff run in 1942. Regular season The season began on a bright spot for the Maple Leafs,as the team won 14 of their first 19 games, and were consistently jostling with the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers for first place in the NHL. However, the Leafs then suffered through a rough streak of play, as they played to a 4–7–3 record in their next 14 games. The slump saw Toronto fall behind the Bruins and Rangers for the NHL standings lead. However, the Leafs rebounded successfully, and followed up their slump with a 7–1–0 record in their next 8 games, before ending their turbulent season by losing 5 of their final 7 games. Toronto finished the year with a record of 27–18–3, and recorded 57 points, which gave them second place in the NHL, 3 points behind NHL leader New York. The Maple Leafs offense was led by Syl Apps, who finished tied for the club lead in points with 41, despite missing 10 games due to injury. Gordie Drillon also finished with 41 points, and he scored a team-best 23 goals, while Billy Taylor had a club high 26 assists. Sweeney Schriner managed to tally 20 goals and 30 assists, providing a well-rounded offensive set for the Maple Leafs. Bucko McDonald led the Maple Leafs defensive core, recording 21 points, while Rudolph Kampman provided strong physical play, recording 67 penalty minutes. In goal, Turk Broda played all 48 games for the Maple Leafs, winning 27 games and posting a 2.76 goals against average, along with earning 6 shutouts. Final Standings Game Log Wins Losses Ties Statistics Playoffs The Maple Leafs would open the playoffs against the best team in the league, the New York Rangers, in a best of seven semi-final series. The Maple Leafs opened the series with a victory at Maple Leaf Gardens with a solid 3–1 win, then managed to go up two games by defeating the Rangers 4–2 at Madison Square Garden. New York managed to take the third game, shutting out Toronto 3–0, however, the Leafs would go up 3–1 in the series, winning the fourth game 2–1 at home. New York staved off elimination in the fifth game, holding off Toronto for a 3–1 win. However, the Leafs ended the series in the sixth game, hanging on for a 3–2 victory, and a spot in the Stanley Cup finals. Wins Losses Stanley Cup Finals Toronto's opponent in the 1942 Stanley Cup Finals was the Detroit Red Wings, who finished the year with a weak 19–25–4 record, ending up in fifth in the league. Detroit defeated the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins to earn a spot in the finals. The Red Wings surprised Toronto in the series opener, winning the game 3–2. Detroit then managed to take the second game by a 4–2 score to go home with a 2–0 series lead. The Red Wings continued playing well, winning the third game at the Detroit Olympia 5–2, pushing the Maple Leafs to the brink of elimination. Toronto responded in the fourth game, narrowly defeating Detroit 4–3 to cut the Red Wings series lead to 3–1. The Leafs returned home for the fifth game, and dominated Detroit, winning the game 9–3 to put the series at 3–2 for Detroit. Turk Broda stole the show in the sixth game, shutting out Detroit 3–0 to tie the series. The Maple Leafs completed their miracle comeback in front of a crowd of over 16,000 fans with a 3–1 victory in the seventh and deciding game. The victory gave the Maple Leafs the Stanley Cup championship for the fourth time in club history, and first time since the 1931–32 season. Wins Losses Statistics Category:History of the Toronto Maple Leafs Category:Historical Statistics Category:Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup Championships